HOMETOWN LOVE. Chris Herriges, Eau Claire Native, created a song and music video depicting what it was like to grow up in Eau Claire. (Photo via L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library website)

If you grew up in or have lived in Eau Claire for some time, you'll likely feel waves of nostalgia while watching Chris Herriges’s new music video for his song, “Hometown Eau Claire.” The Eau Claire native, now living in St. Paul, carefully crafted the lyrics and video to give listeners an insight into his experience of growing up in our neck of the woods.

While it was released July 18, Herriges started working on the song more than a year ago when he couldn’t get one particular tune out of his head. Knowing he wanted to use that tune in a song about something he loved, he decided making it about Eau Claire fit perfectly.

Chris Herriges

“I’ve lived there for many years and Eau Claire just became the place where I do my projects,” Herriges said. Along with his “Hometown Eau Claire” song, Herriges is also the founder of the Eau Claire International Film Festival, which was held Oct. 6-8 this year on the UW-Eau Claire campus.

The song has a classic acoustic rock feel to it, and offers shoutouts to local spots like Big Falls, Carson Park, and even Clairemont Avenue, while also talking a bit about his time attending UWEC. Cindy Mack played the bass guitar on the track while Kaela Zirbes offered harmony vocals.

After creating and recording “Hometown Eau Claire” at his home studio, Herriges enlisted the help of Roy Hoff Sr. and Tina Ecker, who gave him many historical images and videos included in the video. Herriges gathered other images himself by placing a video camera on his dashboard and driving around town.

Anyone looking to immerse themselves in the memories of growing up in Eau Claire should definitely check out “Hometown Eau Claire.”

The song will be available to stream on Spotify on Oct. 23 and the music video can be found on Herriges’s YouTube.